Romance of Pink

When the city was planned and built, it was a plain cream colour and remained so for over a century. There are various stories as to the origin of the pink colour but one that is largely agreed upon by historians is the one to do with the visit of the Prince of Wales in 1876. Maharaja Ram Singh II wanted the city to look clean and new to welcome his guest and experimented with different shades for different streets. Several colours were tried and rejected and the terracotta pink was the final choice for the main shopping area. The colour stayed and gave Jaipur its name - Pink City.

Today there are municipal regulations that have made it mandatory for the house owners within the walled city to paint their buildings in the approved shade of pink. The visitor, however, may get a little confused with the various pinks ranging from an ice cream pink to bright terracotta red, but it is a city that is still trying to get its original shade right!